


Hospital Flowers

by FantasticalFantasy



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Hospital, Fluff, I wish I had a literary purpose for this, M/M, Mostly just Nico and Will, but it's really just Solangelo feels
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-22
Updated: 2016-06-22
Packaged: 2018-07-16 16:45:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7275949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FantasticalFantasy/pseuds/FantasticalFantasy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nico gets into a car accident and a sunny nurse's assistant.  (Hospital AU setup, but primarily a college AU.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hospital Flowers

It was a bright summer morning outside Olympus University Apollo Medical Center when Nico regained consciousness.  His eyes scanned his surroundings for a moment, finally realizing he was in a hospital room.  Why was he in a hospital room?  


“ _Fuck_ ,” Nico hissed, bolting upright, a dull panic filling his veins at the unfamiliarity of his surroundings and a dawning realization.  He heard a clattering off to the side; a tall, blonde man in scrubs and a lab coat fumbled with a clipboard that had fallen to the floor.

 

“Sorry,” the man said, fixing a brilliant smile on Nico, “I’m not used to hearing that in the mornings.”  Nico glanced at the IV connected to his arm, and then the cast on the other; his dominant hand was out of commission.

 

He felt the sensation of having been yanked out of his life and tossed slightly farther ahead in time, unmoored from the continuity of life.  It was disconcerting.  _He_ was disconcerted.  How long was he out for? – it was morning; Nico could hear birds chirping outside the window, and the sun presented newly-risen.  His accident occurred… around 1:00 a.m., after driving his longtime (and best) friend Jason to the airport for a two-month getaway with Piper.  Nico had nearly made it home when, without warning, a Prius (of all things) began to swerve out of its lane… and into Nico.

 

The blonde man was looking at Nico with an expectant look on his face – Nico hadn’t been paying attention; the man must’ve spoken.  “…What?”

 

“I asked you how you were feeling,” the man replied, “My name’s Will Solace; I’m your nursing assistant.”

 

“Oh,” was all Nico could think to say.  Nico fixed his gaze on Will, whom he decided couldn’t be much more than two years older than him.  Will had this lean but athletic build – not quite as broad-shouldered as Jason, but certainly about as tall.  Blue eyes brimmed with kindheartedness; he had this general demeanor that was bright and earnest.  Between Will and the sunshine, Nico just wanted to pull a blanket over his face and go back to bed.  Instead, a question tumbled out of his mouth: “Shouldn’t you be in school?”

 

Will laughed lightly, fetching a stool from across and situating it by Nico’s bedside.  “I should be asking _you_ that question,” tapping Nico’s Olympian ID card on the bedside table, “In the city for summer session?”

 

Caught a little off guard with Will’s apparent familiarity, he asked, “Are you an OU student too?”

 

“All this,” Will explained, gesturing to his scrubs, “is basically an internship.  All the premeds apply to volunteer at Apollo.”

 

Nico nodded.  Will looked good in scrubs.  His eyes shot wide open at that thought.  Nico coughed and averted his gaze, looking for a distraction.  The pain meds must have been making him loopy.

* * *

 

Will left shortly thereafter, insisting Nico promise to call for him if he needed absolutely anything at all.  Left alone, Nico turned to his phone for distraction.  He saw three texts from his sister Hazel.

 

**Hazel: Have you gotten home yet?**

**Hazel: Text me when you make it back?**

**Hazel:  Get some rest, sweet dreams.  Call me in the morning, please?**

 

Nico dialed.

 

“Nico!” Hazel greeted him, “Good morning!”

 

“Good morning,” Nico agreed.  “How’s Vancouver?”  Hazel was studying abroad in Canada for the summer.

 

“Oh, it’s gorgeous, Nico!  We _must_ vacation here sometime – I’m positive you’ll like it!” she promised him enthusiastically.

 

Nico hummed his acquiescence.

 

“How was driving Jason?” she asked.

 

“Insufferable.”

 

“Did you get home late?”

 

Nico paused.  He knew telling her about the accident would only cause her enough worry and fuss to dampen her stay in Canada; he could tell she was taking to Vancouver extraordinarily well.  “Not too late,” is what he decided to tell her.

 

“That’s good.”

 

Nico redirected the conversation asking Hazel questions about her classmates fun things she found to do.  She responded enthusiastically to each inquiry, keeping a small smile on Nico’s face during the entire call.

* * *

 

Later, Dr. Aceso came in to discuss Nico’s condition.  He’d gotten out of the collision with not much more than bruises and scrapes – a lot of bruises and scrapes, but bruises and scrapes nonetheless.  Dr. Aceso assured Nico there was no reason to suspect a concussion at that point in time, but he did have a broken arm to contend with.  Nico could be discharged there and then.

 

“--However, I would like someone to keep an eye on you, particularly in the first week of your recovery.  Sometimes symptoms of brain trauma take a few days to manifest, so if you notice any of these symptoms, please have someone take you back.  Furthermore, your reduced mobility may catch you by surprise sometimes as you perform routine tasks, so I recommend you ask a friend or family member to stick around, even if you find it superfluous.”

 

Nico agreed, though it didn’t seem likely he’d follow through.  Jason would be in Europe with his girlfriend, Percy and Annabeth were home in New York, and Hazel, of course, was in Canada.  Besides, he didn’t need babysitting, he needed rest.  And a car – Nico had all but forgotten he was essentially stranded.  Thus Nico found himself standing newly-discharged in front of the hospital and reluctantly searching for the Uber app on his phone.

* * *

 

“Nico!”

 

Someone taps on his shoulder.  Nico spins around to see Will, slightly flushed and out of breath but sporting that brilliant smile.

 

“Nico!  I’m glad I caught you!”

 

Nico’s face screwed up in confusion.  “Hi?”

 

“Um, hi,” Will breathed.  He stood there, still out of breath and beaming down at Nico.

 

Nico fidgeted.  “…Did I forget something, or something?”

 

“Oh, no, no, no,” Will assured him, waving his hands as if to disperse the idea.  “I, uh,” he began, touching the back of his nick nervously, “I just got done with my shift.  Are you staying at an apartment or in the dorms?  I’ll walk you.”

 

Nico’s mind went blank as the blonde in front of him bit down on the bottom corner of his lip, something Nico would later blame on his recent trauma.

 

“To make sure you get back okay.”

 

“I’m not living in the city this summer,” Nico told him.

 

“What?”

 

“I’m taking online classes.  I only have to drop by campus on occasion.”

 

“And now you don’t have a car,” Will stated.

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Come with me,” Will said, offering his hand.  Nico grumbled something about not being an invalid, but he took Will’s hand anyway.

 

“I have a car at my apartment; I can take you home.”  Right on cue, Nico’s stomach growled as if to agree that going home was a good idea.  Will chuckled.  “But not without feeding you first,” he added.  That sounded good to Nico.

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't written fanfiction since middle school, and being a Chemical Engineering major has left me with the sensation of my creative writing skills withering away. So, in order to introduce some structure into my life, I thought I'd start writing fanfiction again. My writing skills definitely feel rusty, so please let me know how I'm doing.


End file.
